[NFB-DB] Fire TV Launches Hearing Aid Pairing

Mon May 2 19:21:58 UTC 2022

I sure hope they will consider adding braille support soon also. It's part of VoiceRiew on the Fire tablets, so why not the fire TV and any other product with VoiceView?

Scott 

Sent from my iPhone

On May 2, 2022, at 15:09, Peter Donahue via NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Good afternoon everyone,

When you’ve had the police called on you multiple times for having the tv too loud late at night any solution like this is very welcome. We have the Amazon Fire TV Cube and plan to test this out with my hearing aids. Hopefully this ability will be rolled out on other Amazon devices and those from other manufacturers in the coming months and years. This can be  the best protection from complaints from the neighbors and possible eviction should one continue to violate the apartment complex’s noise curfue. I’ll look forward to trying this out. All the best.

Peter Donahue

From: NFB-DB <nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jaye Marie Brown via NFB-DB
Sent: Monday, May 2, 2022 1:43 PM
To: nfb-db at nfbnet.org
Cc: Jaye Marie Brown <jayeembe at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [NFB-DB] Fire TV Launches Hearing Aid Pairing

They should all be tossed in jail.  

Jaye Marie Brown

-----Original Message-----
From: Maggie Stringer via NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>; nfb-db at nfbnet.org; Community Service Discussion List <community-service at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Maggie Stringer <ravensfan784 at gmail.com>
Sent: Mon, May 2, 2022 9:14 am
Subject: [NFB-DB] Fire TV Launches Hearing Aid Pairing

Fire TV launches hearing aid pairing
Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) launches on Fire TV Cube for compatible Starkey Bluetooth hearing aids
Amazon Fire TV
We’re thrilled to announce Fire TV Cube (2nd gen) now supports Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids, commonly known as ASHA. This makes Fire TV the first-ever streaming media player to support ASHA and allow customers to directly connect compatible Bluetooth hearing aids. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that Fifteen percent (37.5 million) of Americans over the age of 18 report some hearing loss and nearly 29 million US adults could benefit from using hearing aids. Through research, we’ve learned that improving TV sound quality was one of the most requested features among hearing aid users.

With this feature, your hearing aids connect with Fire TV at the system level, so you can not only enjoy audio from your favorite apps but also Alexa, music, navigational sounds, and more. Here’s more on how to enable this capability:

Customers with compatible Starkey Bluetooth hearing aids can connect directly to Fire TV Cube for private listening, use your remote’s volume buttons to control the streaming audio level.
Bluetooth hearing aids connect with Fire TV on a system level, so you can enjoy private audio from your favorite streaming services, apps, and games, as well as Alexa.
To pair your hearing aids, visit Fire TV Settings, Accessibility, select Hearing Aids, and follow the on-screen instructions to connect them, much like you would with Bluetooth headphones.
To control the streaming volume, use the Fire TV remote like you otherwise would. When you’re done with your movie, you can disconnect through a shortcut by pressing and holding the ‘Home’ button and selecting ‘Disconnect Hearing Aids.’
For an optimal experience, we recommend customers connect over a 5Ghz wifi network, within 10 feet and in line of sight to Fire TV Cube. Due to the small size of hearing aids, their radio antennas require closer proximity for the best connection. Customers with 2.4GHz wifi can still enjoy the feature, with range that varies depending on spectrum congestion.
ASHA joins an existing rich set of a11y features design to enhance the viewing experiences for customers with disabilities.

Closed Captions can be turned on and left on as a default in Fire TV Accessibility settings.
VoiceView is a screen reader that speaks on-screen text out loud as you navigate menu options and settings.
Text Banner is an assistive technology that brings together information from different parts of the screen and presents descriptive text in one place that doesn’t move. This feature is especially important for customers with visual impairments and a limited field of view.
Screen Magnifier is an assistive technology created for customers who have low vision. It magnifies the screen as you navigate your Fire TV, making it easier to read or see.
Audio Description narrates details about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text, and other visual content while a movie or TV show is playing. It is intended for blind and visually-impaired viewers, but audio description makes movies more enjoyable for anyone who might not be looking at the screen. You can set Audio Description as a default on Prime Video while browsing from over 3,000 available titles.
Fire TV devices feature High Contrast Text, designed to help make text easier to read. It changes most of the text on-screen to black or white, and adds a border of the opposite color.
The ability to use Alexa to turn on the TV with voice helps customers with low mobility to more easily enjoy their entertainment.
We’re just getting started. Later this year, we’ll expand ASHA support to more devices. We’re excited to evolve functionality over time and look forward to getting feedback on what customers find more useful, reach out to us via social media @AmazonFireTV. You can also find more information about accessibility features at: amazon.com/accessibility.

Maggie Stringer 
Phone: (443) 750-0070
Email: ravensfan784 at gmail.com
Community Service Facebook Page
NFB Website
NFB Ohio Website
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